HOUSTON, Oct. 9 (Xinhua) -- The U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) said Wednesday that due to Hurricane Barry's disruption, U.S. crude oil production fell by 276,000 barrels per day (b/d) in July, the largest decline in monthly production in more than a decade.

EIA said that the decline was temporary and geographically isolated to the Federal Offshore Gulf of Mexico.

Crude oil production in U.S. Federal Offshore Gulf of Mexico fell by 332,000 b/d in July when some production platforms were evacuated in anticipation of Hurricane Barry. Meanwhile, U.S. crude oil production in other regions rose by a combined 56,000 b/d in July, partially mitigating the disruption.

According to information from the U.S. Department of the Interior's Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement (BSEE), 283 offshore oil and gas platforms in the Gulf of Mexico -- about 42 percent of the regional total -- were evacuated in mid-July as Barry approached.

Historically, many of the largest monthly declines in U.S. crude oil production were the result of hurricanes. Hurricanes Gustav and Ike led to crude oil production falling by more than 1 million barrels per day in September 2008. Hurricanes Katrina and Rita led to a similar month-on-month decline in September 2005.

In its October Short-Term Energy Outlook (STEO) released on Tuesday, EIA expected that U.S. crude oil production will increase in each remaining month of 2019, and ultimately reach 13.0 million b/d in December 2019.

EIA also expected U.S. crude oil production to average 12.3 million b/d in 2019 and 13.2 million b/d in 2020. Enditem

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